James Sellars (2 December 1843 – 9 October 1888) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

architect who was heavily influenced by the work of Alexander Greek Thomson.

Life

Sellars was born in the

Gorbals The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, and former burgh, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and e ...

in Glasgow, son of James Sellars, house factor and Elizabeth McDonald. He was articled to

H & D Barclay Hugh Barclay (1829–1892) and David Barclay FRIBA (1846–1917) were Scottish architects operating in the late 19th and early 20th centuries under the name of H & D Barclay. They specialised in the design of schools and colleges, but also did con ...

from the age of 13 and stayed there until he was 21 when he then moved to the employment of James Hamilton. Sellars was one of the designers commissioned by the

Saracen Foundry Saracen Foundry, Possilpark, Glasgow The Saracen Foundry was the better-known name for the Possilpark, Glasgow-based foundry company W MacFarlane & Co. Ltd, founded and owned by Walter MacFarlane. MacFarlane's was the most important manufactur ...

to work on a set of standard designs for a series of decorative iron works, for example railings, drinking fountains, bandstands, street lamps, pre-fabricated buildings and architectural features. In later years he worked in partnership with

Campbell Douglas Archibald Campbell Douglas (usually simply referred to as Campbell Douglas) (14 June 1828 – 14 April 1910) was a Scottish architect based primarily in Glasgow. He designed many churches in Glasgow and Edinburgh, especially those for the Free ...

and

John Keppie John Keppie (4 August 1862 – 28 April 1945) was a Glasgow architect and artist. From an early age he was a close friend of Edward Atkinson Hornel and would often bring in New Year with him in Kirkcudbright. Within the architectural professio ...

. Sellars was married to Jane Moodie (1844-1927). He died on 9 October 1888 of blood-poisoning contracted from a nail piercing his boot whilst on site.Dictionary of Scottish Architects:John Keppie Sellars is buried in

Lambhill Cemetery Lambhill is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated north of the River Clyde, approximately north of the city centre. Lambhill is a mainly residential area comprising both council and private housing. Residents are of a mixed ...

with his monument by his colleague

sculpted by his friend

James Pittendrigh Macgillivray James Pittendrigh MacGillivray (1856 – 29 April 1938) was a Scottish sculptor. He was also a keen artist, musician and poet. He was born in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, the son of a sculptor, and studied under William Brodie and John Mossma ...

whom he worked with on several projects. The grave sits on axis with the main east–west path at its western end, but is set behind more modern graves and partially obscured by trees. It was originally the focal point of the main path. The main inscription panel is missing.

Works

* Cove Castle (1867) *Stewart Memorial Fountain,

Kelvingrove Park Kelvingrove Park is a public park located on the River Kelvin in the West End of the city of Glasgow, Scotland, containing the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. History Kelvingrove Park was originally created as the West End Park in 1852, a ...

(1872) * Mitchell Theatre (1873) *

Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St Luke St. Luke's Greek Orthodox Cathedral is a cathedral of the Greek Orthodox Church in the Dowanhill district of Glasgow, Scotland. History Belhaven U.P. Church The church was designed by James Sellars and built in 1877 as the Belhaven Church for t ...

(1877) *

Kelvinside Academy Kelvinside Academy is a private day school in Glasgow, Scotland, founded in 1878. It has a capacity of over 600 pupils and spans two years of Nursery, six years of Junior School (primary school), a transition year of Senior Preparatory, and six ...

(1877) *New Club, 144-146 West George Street, Glasgow (1879) *

Glasgow Victoria Infirmary The Victoria infirmary was a teaching hospital situated at Langside/Battlefield in the south-east of Glasgow from 1880 until 2015. It was managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. History A competition was held to design a 120-bedded hospital an ...

(1882) * Frasers,

Buchanan Street Buchanan Street is one of the high street, main shopping thoroughfares in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. It forms the central stretch of Glasgow's famous shopping district with a generally more upmarket range of shops than the neighbou ...

(1883) *various buildings at the

International Exhibition of Science, Art and Industry The International Exhibition of Science, Art and Industry was the first of 4 international exhibitions held in Glasgow, Scotland during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It took place at Kelvingrove Park between May and November 1888. Th ...

(1888) *Anderson College of Medicine, 56 Dumbarton Road,

Partick Partick (, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and to the north Broo ...

(1888–89). Died during construction. Works completed by

(1862–1945) as a setting-up commission for the newly formed Honeyman and Keppie (Keppie was Sellars' head draughtsman).

References

External links

''A Perspective View of the Principal Buildings of the Glasgow International Exhibition 1888''
by James Sellars, in pen, watercolour and wash; at the Burrell Collection Photo Library

at the

Gazetteer for Scotland The ''Gazetteer for Scotland'' is a gazetteer covering the geography, history and people of Scotland. It was conceived in 1995 by Bruce Gittings of the University of Edinburgh and David Munro of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, and co ...

1843 births 1888 deaths Architects from Glasgow People from Gorbals 19th-century Scottish architects {{UK-architect-stub